I used a purchased 19mm silk
charmeuse scarf 8X54. Iron it first like I didn't. Start the electric
frying pan and add soy wax - flakes not a solid chunk. I set the
thermostat at about 150-160degrees F. Soy wax melts at a very low temp
and washes out of fabric with a simple hot wash (more about this later).
I wouldn't use nor recommend any other form of wax.

I covered my work surface (a 2'X4' home made ironing board with 6 mil poly film and a heavy old towel. Kiss the towel goodbye.

I
made this ironing/silk screening/monoprinting surface out of a 2'X4'
piece of 3/8" plywood from Home Depot. Cost about $8. I covered it with
felt and 2 layers of warm and natural batting and a medium weight muslin
fabric secured with a staple gun. I set it on collapsible horses ($12.)
This surface is the BEST tool I use and I can collapse it in 30 seconds
if needed.

I used a potato masher (they come in many
shapes so get a variety) and set the end in the hot wax for about 30
seconds to heat the metal, shook off excess wax and applied in a pattern
to the white silk.

Next
I used some fabric paint that I thinned with water. You just need to
try it yourself, get a feel for the consistency you like best. I started
with paler colors since I would be adding 3 colors on top of each
other. I applied the first (for me the lightest) color using the small
square of soft sponge and put the scarf on a drying rack to dry in front
of a fan.

Of
course I didn't take a picture of just one layer of paint because I was
so excited about what I was doing that I rushed through the entire
process. I did use the rack and fan for each step so just take my word
for it.
Above, you can see the potato masher imprint. The first
color paint was light lavender. Dry completely between applications of
wax and paint. I used this rack. The next tool I used was an egg beater
and a metal bit from a lamp I threw away after scavenging any
interesting parts that would make shapes!

After this wax was applied, I sponged on fuchsia paint which over the lavender looked purply pink.

Then
after this was dry I applied wax with a car washing sponge from which
the center was removed. My last color was a vibrant purple alternated
with a metallic dark blue (Probrite) paint. I allowed this to dry on the
rack in front of the fan until it was completely dry. What I haven't
mentioned was at the same time I was making this scarf, I was making
another on the other side of the towel so that I could continue to work
on one scarf while the other one was drying. Here are the two scarves
finished and drying on the rack before wax removal.

When
both were dry, I took them over to my conventional ironing board,
covered with newspapers, laid down the scarf, covered with more
newspapers and began removing the wax from the completed projects using
the iron set on cotton and a few (3-4) layers of newspaper to absorb the
wax. I pressed the scarf about 3 times with clean newspapers each time
to absorb as much wax as possible. This will heat set the paint.

I
filled a plastic basin with HOT water and a bit of synthapol (actually
Prosapol) and swished it about using soft tongs to get the last
remaining bits of wax out. I let it dry on the rack and ironed.

My babies drying.

This is much better looking in real life. It started to storm here and I lost the light. Above is habotai.

Both of these are silk charmeuse which I really love for it's softness, drape and strength.

Very thin Habotai.
I
hope you are as excited about trying this method of batiking as I was
when my friend and fellow art quilter, Kathy Molatch , showed it to the
"5" which is the name of our artist group. If you have any questions or I
was unclear about something please let me know so I can make
corrections or an addendum to this tutorial.
Later...
Now
that I have done batiking in my our home, I have had to clean up those
towel which I will no longer use for anything but art. I tried to iron
out as much wax as possible between sheets of newspaper. I took the
towels to the kitchen and filled a bucket with straight hot water from
the tap and dish soap. I placed the towels one at a time into the bucket
and let them soak until I felt the wax had melted. I rung them out as
well as possible and popped them into a full length machine wash with
HOT water and detergent. They are in the dryer now back to their
original softness. No waxy residue in the washer (yeah!) They are also
wonderfully colored from the painting process. Back at the bucket, the
wax seems to have clung to the sides of the bucket. I think some could
be scraped off with a spatula or flat scrapper. I ran HOT water down the
sides of the bucket and used a pot scrubber pad with dish soap to
remove the last bits which were pretty substantial. I probably should
have used my flat scrapper first. Next time - live and learn. At least
doing this process keeps the towels out of the landfill and in my
studio. The reasons I use soy wax are because it is benign to the
environment (pouring out on the grass or poured down the drain after
dissolution with soap), melting at such a low point and the ease with
which it is removed from fiber.
Another suggestion: Get LOTS of
newspapers in advance. It's amazing how many sheets of paper it takes
to remove the wax. Iron silk on the silk setting but the wax can be
removed by ironing with newspapers on cotton.

I have a few new pieces to show from our Saturday play date.

Batiked
Linen. VERY absorbent. Must remember this next time I am choosing
fabric. I used lots of wax, not so much paint but the color didn't
completely go through to the other side.

Photo
"enhanced" in photoshop so that the colors were more vivid. The
Habotai is NOT as pale as the images below. Actually this was a lovely
piece of silk.

This
is the photo I should have had for the tutorial. I'll see if I can add
it. In this image, I have added wax with the potato masher over the
yellow paint (color retained) then added blue which appeared more
turquoise.

Finally, my towel is all its painted and waxed glory. It should be coming out of the dryer now into it's new incarnation.

2 comments:

Great tutorial, Beth! I have one question: was the silk soft after you removed the wax and laundered it? I have been reluctant to use fabric paints because they always used to leave the surface stiff, whereas dyes leave the surface softer... just curious!

Necessities or Not

Beth

"This site doesn't allow pinning to Pinterest. Thanks for visiting!"

Copyright

All of the content on this blog is copyright protected and owned exclusively by Beth Berman. Anyone can link to this site and share by links any and all information. The tutorials are there for you to read, share and print off. Please give me credit.If you have any questions, please contact me using the contact form at the bottom of this page.